


The Legacy We'll Leave Behind

by Nutkin



Category: Demi Lovato (Musician), Disney RPF, Jonas Brothers
Genre: F/M, Impregnation, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Polygamy, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, Sibling Incest, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-27
Updated: 2012-12-27
Packaged: 2017-11-22 14:37:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/610906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nutkin/pseuds/Nutkin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick and Joe get Demi pregnant; domesticity ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Legacy We'll Leave Behind

**Author's Note:**

> Much thanks to Edwardina for reading over this, and encouraging my bad ideas!

The thing about Demi is that she's always been different than other girls.

That's the only reason any of it happened in the first place. Nick and Joe always screwed around together and always juggled girlfriends while they were doing it, but they never would have crossed that line with anyone else. 

Demi was just special, more like a long-lost sister. She laughed at Joe's jokes and could always one-up whatever ridiculous scheme he was planning, and she got all soulful and deep when she was writing songs with Nick. She didn't ever come between them; it was more like she was filling a gap, bridging them in away they hadn't quite realized they needed. 

The first time anything happened, they were all sleep-deprived and giddy after a long night shoot on _Camp Rock_. Joe was telling some story that had the both of them in stitches, and for some reason when Demi leaned over to knock her shoulder into his, Joe just up and kissed her.

"Um," she said afterwards, pressing her lips together and then breaking into a wide smile. "That was random."

It wasn't, though. It was something they had been dancing around for weeks, a possibility that neither of them had been brave enough to do anything about. 

Demi cocked her head to the side, and before Joe could say anything, she turned to Nick and planted a soft, deliberate kiss on his mouth. It was the same kind of kiss Joe gave her, a little bit open-mouthed and little too long to be chaste.

"Now we're all even," she said, but there was nothing final about her tone. She seemed more amused than anything, like it was a game they were playing.

"Well, not totally," Joe grinned, looking past her at Nick. 

Nick's eyes went wide, like he knew exactly what Joe was thinking, but Joe didn't give him a chance to freak out about it. He just leaned over and grabbed Nick's jaw, holding him steady as he pressed their lips together. Instead of pulling away, Nick sighed against his cheek and shut his eyes, letting it happen.

"Wow," Demi said when they pulled apart. "That's not the first time you've done that, is it?"

It wasn't the reaction Joe was expecting; he was banking on some grossed-out laughter, something to lighten the mood.

"Not exactly," Nick said, rubbing his palms against his knees. "Does that, uh, freak you out?"

Demi shook her head, glancing back and forth between them, and then suddenly kissed Joe again. And just like that, everything changed.

With anyone else it would have been weird, but with Demi it just felt like blurring the same lines Nick and Joe had already been toeing at for years. She made it easy, no big deal, like she just fit naturally into that part of their lives. The movie eventually wrapped, but it became a thing – something they kept alive on tour, and then the next movie, and every time the three of them were in the same town. 

Joe and Demi started officially dating a few years later, just so it was easier to explain her constant presence, but it was always about the three of them. Doing all of it together was what made it work, made it feel more like bending rules than breaking them. If Joe and Nick could justify fucking each other because they were brothers, it wasn't a huge stretch to justify fucking Demi because she was practically their sister. They all loved each other, and that made it easy to pretend it didn't quite count, that it was something they didn't need to take responsibility for. It was just about them.

So when Joe's twenty-three and Demi sits between them on Nick's couch and says, "I'm pregnant," he and Nick just stare at each other for a minute. It's the one thing they never even thought about or accounted for.

"How?" Joe finally says. "We always..."

Demi shrugs. "You know the line. The only way to be sure is to not do it at all."

Nick blows out a slow breath and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. 

"Oh my God," Joe says. "This is – wow. Pregnant? Really? Like, for how long?"

She shrugs again and gives a little laugh. "Not too long. Not even a month."

"Wow," Joe says again. He looks at Demi for a moment, and then pulls his ring off and holds it up.

"Really?" she says skeptically.

Nick rubs his hands together and smiles at the floor.

"If he didn't do that, I would have," he says, glancing up at her. "Come on, Demi, you're not doing this alone. We're a team."

"Totally," Joe says.

"This is a really big deal," Demi says. "Guys, I mean, you – this isn't the kind of thing you just spontaneously decide because life throws you a curveball."

"It's not," Joe says. "I love you. I mean, I kind of expected this stuff to happen in a different order, but I definitely want to marry you."

Demi looks down at her hands, twisting the metal bracelet on her wrist.

"We don't even know whose it is," she says quietly. 

"It doesn't matter," Nick says. "I mean, this is really the only way we can do this. You can only marry one of us, and it would be pretty weird for me to marry my brother's girlfriend. But nothing has to change. I'm in this with you two."

Demi's face goes tight for a second as she reaches over and squeezes Nick's hand. 

"Don't feel like you have to make promises just because this is so complicated, okay? I want you to be happy, and you deserve way, way more than what—"

"Hey," Nick says, giving her hand a little shake. "This makes me happy. There's a reason we decided to do this in the first place, right? All of us." He looks over at Joe and swallows, tapping his thumb against the back of Demi's hand. "So that's how we're going to deal with it. Together."

"This is the rest of our lives we're talking about," she says, looking up at the ceiling. "There are no do-overs. It's not going to just be about us anymore, it's going to be about this baby."

"Why are you talking about this like it's a hypothetical?" Joe tugs at the strand of hair by her face. "It already happened. God, Demi, we're having a baby." He lets that thought really sink in, his gaze dropping to her flat stomach. He can feel a grins stealing across his face as he grabs her other hand. "This is _awesome_."

Demi lets out a surprised huff of laughter. 

"Yeah, it kind of is." She studies Joe's face for a second. "Are you really sure you want to get married? Because I'm telling you right now, I'm not cleaning or cooking for either of you. I'm taking one year off from work, tops, and then I'm right back in the studio. This isn't going to be some desperate housewife thing. And I'm keeping my last name, because Demi Jonas just sounds stupid."

Joe grins. "I can cook. And I like your name."

She does her best to look resolute, but Joe can see a little smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"And I swear to God, I will kill you in your sleep if you try to divorce me when I'm flabby and gross. If we're doing this, we're really doing it."

Joe gives her a little nudge, making her sway against Nick's side.

"Who else would I even want to marry? You think dozens of beautiful girls mob me every time I step outside, or something?"

Demi pulls her hand out of Joe's so she can plaster it over his face and shove him back on the couch.

"I hate you," she laughs. 

Nick just shakes his head. "Dude," he says flatly. "Worst proposal ever."

"Oh, like you could do better," Joe says, leaning around Demi to make a face at him. "Yours would just be one big mixed metaphor about politics and uniting two great nations for the common good."

Demi snickers and Nick rolls his eyes.

"At least get on your knees?" he says. "And say something, like, heartfelt."

"He has a point," Demi adds, biting her lip as she grins. "This is kind of a Hallmark moment. Reach for the big guns, Jonas."

Joe sinks to the floor with a dramatic flourish, clearing his throat.

"Demetria Devonne Lovato," he intones, his voice dropping about an octave lower than normal. Nick coughs pointedly, and Joe relents. "You are the coolest girl I've ever known. And you're funny, and awesome, and beautiful, and your hair always smells amazing, and I think about you every time I see daisies because of that time you told me about the project you did on them in the sixth grade, which is pretty romantic. And I love you. And Nick loves you, almost as much as he loves himself. So—" He pats out a drum roll against her knees, grinning when she laughs. "Will you please marry... us?"

"Yes," she says, her voice catching a little when she holds her hand out.

"Wait," Nick says, pulling off his own ring. He hands it to Joe with a shrug. "Use mine. It's, uh, symbolic."

"You're such a cheeseball," Joe says, but he takes it and drops his own in Nick's palm. 

Demi looks like she might start to cry when Joe slips it on her finger, but instead she just sniffs and laughs again, tipping her hand to watch the thick band settle there. It's at least three sizes too big.

"We're having a kid," she says, her gaze moving from Joe to Nick. "We're going to be parents."

It still hasn't quite sunk in yet, but Joe just grins at them from the floor.

"Heck yes, we are."

*

The wedding is about as different from Kevin's as it can get. It's small and personal – the tabloids call it "intimate" – and they plan the whole thing as quickly and quietly as possible.

No one in the family thinks to question how fast it all happens. They all love Demi and seem to think of it as an impulsive, romantic twist on something they already saw coming. 

She's not even starting to show when she walks down the aisle. She looks young and innocent and more beautiful than Joe's ever seen her, which is really saying something. No one would ever guess that she's pregnant. That it might be Nick's baby. It's a secret that's just for them, and somehow that carries them through the weirdness of it all.

Nick grips his shoulder and gives him a little shake as she glides up to the altar on her step-dad's arm, and Joe leans back against him for a second. When he lifts her veil and drapes it over her complicated up-do, Demi raises an eyebrow at him, the smile on her lips small and mischievous. 

Joe's pretty sure no one would notice the way her gaze flicks over his shoulder at Nick before he takes her hand.

"I guess we're really doing this," Demi says when they catch a few minutes alone after the ceremony. 

"I guess so," Joe says, pulling her against his chest. She's so small that he can't even imagine her getting all big with a baby. "Scared?"

Nick rests his chin against her shoulder, and Demi grins, her teeth white against the framing red of her lipstick.

"Absolutely," she says merrily. "But I've got you two, right?"

"You've got us," Nick says. She turns to kiss him, Joe's hands on her waist as Nick tips her back a little and deepens it.

"Hey," Joe says. "I didn't get any tongue."

Demi laughs against Nick's mouth and elbows him. "You can't tongue-kiss at the altar."

"Says who?"

"Um, everybody." She slings an arm around Joe's neck, crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue in the corner of her mouth. "There, was that enough tongue for you?"

"Oh, that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Joe says, tickling her side. "I'll show you tongue, missy."

Demi giggles and squirms away. 

"Not in the Vera Wang," she chides, leaning back against Nick's chest. He slips his arm around her waist, his hand settling over her stomach. It looks big and tan against the silky fabric of her dress, and they all get quiet as they look down at it.

"This is so crazy," Demi says softly.

"I think it's amazing," Nick says, flexing his fingers a little. "I mean, it's like a miracle. God really, really wanted this baby to happen."

Demi smiles and reaches up behind her to touch Nick's cheek. "I like the way you think."

They all just stand there for a moment, staring at each other as everything in their lives quietly changes.

"Okay, kids, we've got a party to get to," Joe finally says. He holds his hand out like they always did before shows. "Jonas on three?"

They both grin as they cover it with their own, Demi's white gloved fingers warm between Nick and Joe's. 

When they raise their hands to the ceiling they all crack up, falling against each other warmly. And even though it's all crazy and weird and the end of an era, the end of their youth, Joe can't think of any two people he'd rather do it with.

*

It takes them a while to settle into everything. 

There was a lot of debate before the wedding about where they should live – they all kind of wanted to settle in Dallas, but the close proximity to both families was as much of a drawback as it was incentive.

"This whole thing is going to be hard enough to keep on the down-low," Demi pointed out. "The last thing we need is two sets of overbearing grandparents up in our business all the time."

So they get a place in a gated community in L.A. with a brick wall around the yard, and buy a lot of furniture they spend days rearranging. The newness makes it all feel strangely temporary, like it might disappear as quickly as it came. Joe finds himself standing around in one room or the other every now and then, marveling at the fact that he's married, this is his house, and there's a baby on the way.

It's a lot to get used to.

Nick doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself at first. He keeps his apartment, since there's no real way to explain moving in with them, and ping-pongs back and forth between the two places until Demi tells him to knock it off and bring his clothes over.

"You're paranoid," she says. "No one cares if you spend the night over here. They don't even know I'm pregnant yet, and we're all friends, so whatever."

It's one of the nicest things she says that week, which is the other thing that takes some getting used to. Demi's usually the most laid-back girl Joe knows, but by the end of the first month she's a mess of unfamiliar emotions, touchy and grumpy and bursting into tears over the weirdest crap, like Folgers commercials and sappy songs on the radio.

"I'm turning into a giant weirdo," she says on one of the latter occasions, wiping her eyes with a crumpled Starbucks napkin.

"No way," Nick says, turning down the car stereo. "Savage Garden makes me want to cry, too. These lyrics are awful."

Demi sniffs and laughs, peering at her reflection in the rearview mirror and wiping away mascara smudges. "Shut up."

She spends the better part of the second month running to the bathroom and living on saltines.

"This is not nearly as glamorous as it looks in the movies," she says when she bumps into Joe after another bout of morning sickness.

"You're glowing," he says by way of consolation. Demi blows her bangs out of her eyes and makes a face.

"Yeah, that's because I'm green with nausea." She leans over to press her face against his shoulder.

"Aw, Dem," he laughs. "C'mon, this part isn't supposed to last long, right?"

"Three months," she grumbles.

"See? And you've got one down."

Joe moves his hand to touch her belly. It's still flat, the baby inside just a tiny little thing, but there's no mistaking it's there. Something about her is different – even in sweats and no make-up and her hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, she looks different. Full of life, or something. 

Demi smiles down at his hand and covers it with her own. 

"Already a trouble-maker," she says. "He must get that from you."

It's just one of the fond little things they've started saying, trying to make this idea of a kid seem more real, but it makes him grin.

"Is it worth it?" he asks. 

She lifts her eyebrows a little when she looks back up at him, one of her huge, toothy smiles spreading across her face.

"Definitely."

*

Demi starts showing a few weeks later, right around the time they make the official announcement. It's barely noticeable, but Joe adopts the habit of talking to her tummy at every available opportunity, so he's keeping pretty close tabs.

"I think it's getting bigger," he says one night. He's laying between Demi's legs on the couch, her t-shirt pulled up to her bra while he tells her stomach about his day.

"Or I just ate a huge dinner," she says. "You're like that witch in _Hansel and Gretel_ , trying to fatten me up."

"Blame Nick," Joe says, tickling at her ribs. She doubles over with giggles, almost kneeing him square in the chest. "The only way I know how to take care of people is making them eat. But this – this is definitely not dinner."

"Oh, whoa," Nick says, coming up behind the couch. He's got his guitar strapped on, but he shifts it around to his back as he leans over and looks at her pale belly. "That's – you're – it's the baby."

Joe and Demi both crack up, and Nick flushes a little. 

"Well, it _is_ ," he huffs.

"He's supposed to be the smart one," Joe says behind a cupped hand, and Nick hits him upside the head. 

Demi grins at Nick. 

"You're the top of the class, kiddo," she says warmly. She catches his hand where it's resting on the couch cushion and presses it to the tiny curve of her stomach. "Say hello to your baby."

Nick turns even pinker, but he smiles in a soft way that Joe doesn't see too often. He strokes his thumb next to her belly-button.

"Hi, baby," he says quietly. 

Joe grins, catching Demi's eye and feeling a rush of happiness that leaves him a little winded.

*

Demi plops between them on the couch at the end of the second month and says, "I want to have sex. Right now."

Nick actually drops his Wii controller in surprise. It bounces to the floor and he ducks to pick it up, looking totally flustered by the time he straightens.

"Uh, what?" he says.

Demi grins and ruffles up his hair. "You heard me."

"Seriously? Like, real sex?" Joe says. She's been pretty good-natured about giving them both the occasional hand-job, but every time he's reached for her with any real intent she bats his hands away and says something like, _that's what you horn-dogs have each other for_. "Isn't that going to mess up the baby or something?"

Demi bursts out laughing. "Oh my God, you doofus, pregnant women have sex all the time." She rolls her eyes at his incredulous expression. "I'm not, like, celibate now, I've just been feeling like crap. I'd like to see you get it up when you're blowing chunks twice a day."

"Joe can always get it up," Nick says dryly. "This one time on tour I got the flu, and—"

"Dude," Joe interjects. "Please, you're the one who spent a whole year popping boners every time we got interviewed by anything with boobs."

"I was sixteen," Nick huffs. "Do you even remember—"

"Boys," Demi says, slapping a hand on each of their knees. "As much as I love to hear you out-lame each other, there is a real life girl here propositioning you. Prioritize."

She gets up and heads towards the bedroom, leaving Nick and Joe staring at each other for a second. They both scramble off the couch at the same time, elbowing each other down the hall.

Demi's already out of her shirt and bra when they both land on the bed.

"Gee, finally," she grins, lifting her hips as Nick unbuttons her jeans and tugs them down. "I was starting to worry you lost interest now that I've got junk in the trunk."

Joe laughs as he pulls his shirt off, getting tangled up in the cotton for a second. 

"Are you kidding?" He takes a second to look at her – really look at her, taking in the slight roundness of her cheeks and the way her hips are a little softer. "You look amazing."

"Uh-huh," she says skeptically.

"You do," Nick agrees, shucking off his pants. His dog tags drag against her shoulder when he ducks in to kiss her. Demi leans into it, catching the back of his neck and pulling him down.

Joe makes a little noise when he slips his fingers into her panties. She's so wet the cotton is soaked through, sticky against his knuckles as he touches her.

"Wow," he says, his cock throbbing in his boxers. "You really do want it."

Demi bites her lip and squirms a little. "Yeah. It's crazy. I can't even remember the last time I was this horny."

She shuts her eyes when he pushes two fingers inside of her, a little gasp catching in her throat. It's only been a couple months – they've definitely gone longer without screwing around – but that suddenly seems like an insanely long time. 

"God, Demi," he says, twisting those fingers and watching her face change. 

"Come on," she breathes, opening her eyes again. They look a little glassy, and he can feel her cunt tighten around him as she bends her knee. "I really, really need it."

Nick reaches for the bedside table while Joe tugs off his pants, and Demi laughs a little as she peels down her sticky panties.

"Uh, you don't have to use protection," she says. "That ship has already sailed."

Nick just blinks at her for a second, his arm still stretched out towards the drawer where the condoms are stashed. Joe pauses with his thumb tucked into the waist of his boxers, his expression probably as dumbfounded as Nick's.

It makes sense, but for some reason it didn't occur to him. They've never done it like that, not ever. It was one of those boundaries they didn't even think to cross, like the if-you-have-to-do-it-at-least-be-safe clause of their sex lectures was one thing they could cling to. Not that it mattered any in the long run.

"Really?" Nick finally says, his tone incredulous.

"What's the big deal?" Demi says, kicking her panties to the floor. Her gaze moves back and forth between them. "I mean, you guys don't use one when you – you know, with each other, right? It's not really different."

Nick laughs and squeezes at his cock where it's pushing out the front of his boxers.

"Uh, yeah, it's really different," he says, looking over at Joe like maybe he can explain the mysterious awesomeness of girl-parts.

"Totally different," Joe agrees, shoving his boxers down. His cock slaps up against his stomach, so hard it almost aches. Demi eyes it and bites her lip.

"Whatever," she says, already breathless. "Someone just stick it in already. I'm dying here."

"You're so romantic," Joe teases. "That's what I love about you."

"Oh, shut up," Demi says.

Nick goes first, mostly because he's got this crazed sort of look in his eye and Joe's not in any hurry. He wants to take his time, because he knows it's going to be good.

"Oh my God," Nick says when Demi guides him in. She lifts her hips a little as he slides home, and Joe can't tell which of their expression is better – Demi's flushed glow of satisfaction or Nick's slacked-jawed amazement. 

His hips snap a little when he's all the way in, like he's trying to press even deeper, and Demi groans and clutches at his shoulders.

"Finally," she sighs, hooking a leg around his waist. "That's so good."

"You're so – wet," Nick blurts out, rocking into her without any real rhythm. "So wet, God, this is so much _better_."

"Yeah," she hums, her eyes falling shut. "I can really – huh – feel you like this."

Nick's strokes even out after a minute, and Joe lets out a slow breath as he watches. He never gets sick of seeing Nick like this – it's different than when they're fucking around with each other. There's something awestruck about the way he looks at her and touches her. They both look so good, all pale, flushed skin and pink mouths and dark hair.

Joe jerks himself for a second, watching the muscles of Nick's back flex and roll. He could be the father, Joe realizes all over again. Nick could the one who knocked her up. 

A hot blurt of precome oozes out the slit of his cock, and Demi looks over at him, her bangs fluttering against her face in time with Nick's thrusts.

"God, Joe," she says, reaching for his dick. Her hand overlaps his as she gives it a tight squeeze, arching up against Nick. "I want you both – so much."

"I'm right here," he says, leaning over so he can kiss her on the mouth. She opens up, her tongue hot and slick against his. He's vaguely aware of Nick groaning somewhere above him, his breaths going ragged when Joe slides a hand up his arm.

"You two look so – good. Together," Nick pants. "God, you're so pretty."

Joe looks at him when he pulls back from Demi, reaching to touch his flushed cheek. 

"Yeah," Demi whispers. "Yeah, Joe, kiss him."

She sighs when he does it, smashing his mouth against Nick's and licking in deep, swallowing down Nick's little groan as he fucks into her. His strokes go sharper, deeper, like he can't hold himself back, his teeth snagging against Joe's bottom lip and pulling at it with a whimper.

"Oh," Nick gasps, shaking his head. "I can't, I'm—"

"It's okay," Demi says, her hand tightening around Joe's cock. He fucks into her fist, not quite able to fight the urge, and her thumb skids along the head. "I want you to – I want you to c-come inside of me."

Joe just watches, amazed, as Nick unravels. It's so dirty, knowing that he's actually shooting off in her, filling her up with his come.

"Oh my God," she huffs, her eyes falling shut. "I can feel it, Nick, I can feel – it's so wet."

Nick makes a kind of desperate, low noise, his cheeks flushing even redder as he tilts his head back, the muscles in his neck straining with the force of it, and – Jesus, Joe might just come watching him do this, watching him blow his load in her.

"Yeah," Nick hisses, his eyebrows knitting. "Oh my God, Demi."

"Oh," she breathes when his thrusts finally taper off. He eases back and slumps to the side, breathing so hard Joe can feel the gusts of it on the other side of her.

"Sorry," Nick says, blinking up at the ceiling like he's suddenly coming back to himself. "Sorry, I kind of—"

"Don't," she interrupts, turning to look at him. "That was amazing."

Joe can't quite stop himself from sliding a hand between her legs. She's all hot there from the friction of it, hotter than she was when he touched her before. He just has to feel it, has to know what that's like.

"Joe," she says, a little shocked, when he slips his fingers into her.

"Whoa," he says when he finds it. It's deep inside of her, wet and hot and oozing around his fingers. He wonders if this is what got her pregnant – one of Nick's loads, thicker and stickier than his own.

"Can you feel it?" Demi whispers. Her cheeks have flushed a little more, and she flexes around his fingers like the very idea gets her hot. 

"Yeah," he says, glancing at Nick. He's just staring at Joe, his eyes dark and narrow. "You gave her a big one."

Nick sucks in a sharp breath, giving his flagging cock a couple of jerks, and Joe realizes that this is doing it for all of them.

"You want me to come in you, too?" he says, pulling his fingers out and sliding between her legs. "Wanna feel both of us in there?"

Her eyes go wide and she nods. "I want that so bad."

She tips her head back, watching him through slitted eyes as he slides in. He knows what Nick was talking about instantly – it's totally different, not even close to the how it usually feels, It's just skin on skin, all slick heat around him with nothing in the way. 

Joe groans when he hits home, leaning in over her until the tiny curve of her stomach brushes against his. She goes tight around him, pulling at his dick in a way that makes his breaths go short.

"I can—" He can't quite believe it, the idea slipping through his brain without really catching on anything. It's too weird – too _hot_ – and he just pauses for a second, rocking against her so the tip of his cock drags deep inside. "I can feel it. Nick."

"Really?"

Joe nods, blinking down at her without really seeing anything.

"It's – God, it's your come," he says, reaching down to grip the base of his cock and hold himself off from losing it right then.

"Oh," Demi breathes, arching up against him. "That's so—"

"Yeah," Nick says. "Wow."

Joe swallows a few times before he eases back and finds a rhythm, grinding into her with deep, slow strokes. It just gets sloppier and wetter the more he does it, like every thrust is displacing that mess of jizz.

"C'mere," he mutters at Nick, reaching for his arm and tugging until he's close enough to kiss. Nick grips his face, sliding his fingers back into his hair. He flicks his tongue against Joe's teasingly, licking at his bottom lip before pushing in. It's hard and demanding, the exact opposite of the way Joe's fucking Demi, and he groans raggedly as his hips jerk against her.

"Joe," she whispers, and he drops his head away from the kiss, trying to focus on keeping his rhythm slow and even. Nick rubs at the side of his arm, like he's just trying to find a way to touch him, and Demi reaches for his other hand.

Joe stretches it out as long as he can, until his heart's pounding so hard he can feel it in his fingertips and Demi's trembling under him, her whole body tensing as she comes. It's still way too soon.

"Ready?" he breathes down at her when he just can't put it off anymore. She nods desperately, and to his side he can hear Nick's sudden intake of breath.

"Do it," Nick says, his voice thick. "It's so good."

It's that more than anything that pushes him right over the edge, driving in hard and shooting off right where Nick did.

Demi digs her nails into his forearms, her whole face twisting up as he loses it. It's harder than he's ever come before in his life, the sensation burning through him and only getting bigger the more he unloads, the more he fills her up.

"God," he huffs when he finally pulls out and collapses next to them. Demi squeezes her legs together and shuts her eyes.

"That was—" She breaks off, her breaths still ragged and harsh. "Amazing."

"Yeah," Joe says, tucking an arm behind his head and staring at the ceiling. "We're never, ever, ever using condoms again."

Nick lets out a short, hard laugh, and then Demi chimes in, and pretty soon they're all cracking up.

*

Something changes after that. 

Joe's not really sure if it's pregnancy hormones or their newfound freedom, or maybe a little of both, but they're suddenly having sex like it's their day job, like they're making up for lost time.

One night Joe comes home from grocery shopping and finds Demi on her knees in the kitchen, Nick pressed up against the counter with his jeans around his knees. The water's running in the sink and Nick's hands are wet and red, like he was doing the dishes and she just couldn't help herself. 

Joe just stands there for a second, the heavy plastic bags digging into his fingers as Demi's pink little mouth slides up and down Nick's cock. 

It's like a scene from a porno, but tailored just for him – his brother's flushed, angular face turned up against the kitchen lights, his wife's full tits almost spilling out of her sweater as she sucks him off.

"Honey, I'm home," Joe says, voice cracking a little. Nick looks over at him with dark, heated eyes, his gaze not even wavering as he shoots off right in Demi's mouth.

It goes like that for weeks, the three of them switching off in pairs whenever they aren't all messing around together. Nick leaves hickeys on the insides of her thighs that Joe finds later, and Demi scratches up Nick's back every now and then, marks Joe sees when he's got Nick face-down on their bed. It just gets more and more out of control, the three of them egging each other on and pushing for more. 

Nothing should feel this good, Joe's pretty sure.

Nothing should ever feel as amazing as watching Nick fuck her on her knees, one arm wrapped right underneath her full, bouncing tits, his hand splayed open across her gently rounded stomach. Nothing should sound as hot as her voice whimpering their names together, one after the other, as Joe works his fingers against her and watches her come.

"Oh!" she gasps, one hand reaching back to grab at Nick. "Oh, God, Joe."

She's so wet he can hear every thrust Nick's giving her, the sound loud and sharp in the quiet room. It's so hot, so crazy, he isn't even sure how it's real – how this has become an average weeknight for them.

Nick pulls her back on his cock in a slow, grinding rhythm, his eyes shut tight and his breaths low and heavy. Joe leans in to kiss his parted mouth, rubbing his thumb across Demi's clit as Nick licks back at his tongue. She makes a tight, breathless noise, her fingers closing around Joe's cock and giving it a clumsy pump.

Joe lingers there after the kiss breaks, Nick meeting his gaze as he rocks into her. A sheen of sweat makes his face shine in the lamp light, the sex flush in his cheeks rosy-pink against his pale skin. 

"That good, Demi?" Joe says after a moment, his fingers moving down to feel where Nick's slipping inside her.

"Yeah," she sighs. Nick's eyebrows lift a little, one corner of his mouth pulling up, and Joe realizes that he likes that – hearing that he's getting her off.

"Tell him," Joe says, suddenly inspired. "Tell him how much you like it."

Demi catches her bottom lip with her teeth, but she'd probably agree to just about anything right then.

"I love it. I love how hard you – do it, Nick. It's so good."

"Yeah?" Nick says, gripping her hair. He tugs it a little, tilting her head back, and Joe bites at the base of her throat as Nick's thrusts go sharp and demanding. "Like that?"

"Oh God, yeah," she breathes, her hips twisting as she rocks against him. "I can always – feel it after. All day, feel your—"

"Say it," Nick hisses, and Demi's eyes go wide when his other hand slides up to touch one of her breasts, his fingers squeezing the nipple. 

She shakes her head twice, like she can't quite make herself spit it out.

"Say it," Joe echoes, closing his hand over hers on his dick. He guides it in a tight, steady rhythm, like the one Nick's using on her.

Demi groans, her fingers going tight around him, and then blurts, "Your – your _cock_ , Nick."

Joe's never heard her use that word, and she looks a little shocked herself. Nick mouths at the side of her throat and tenses, his thrusts stuttering, and Joe knows he's coming right inside of her.

It's crazy. He fucking loves it.

*

Demi's curves fill out so subtly that it kind of takes Joe by surprise when he comes up behind her one day and cups her breasts, finding them full and round.

"Whoa," he says. "Hello, nurse."

"Shut up, I know," she groans, leaning back against him. "I'm getting fat."

Joe nuzzles the side of her neck. "Are you kidding? These are – wow. Has my brother noticed these yet?" He gropes gently at the front of her tank-top, testing the unfamiliar weight of them against his palms.

"Well someone sure has," she laughs, rocking back against the swell of his dick in his jeans. "Hello, sailor."

"Lame," he says, spinning her around and pulling her hips up against his. The swell of her tummy isn't quite big enough to make it an awkward fit yet. "You can't recycle a pick-up line in the same conversation."

"My bad," Demi grins, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Are these the life lessons you're going to pass on to our son?"

Joe perks his eyebrows. "Our son?"

Demi's face goes almost comically horrified, her hands flying to cover her mouth.

"Oh crap," she moans, voice muffled against her palms. She stomps her foot and shakes her head, looking down at her bare feet sheepishly. "I wasn't going to say anything yet."

"Oh my God," Joe says. The grin spreading across his face is so big it feels like it's never going to stop. "It's – we're having a boy? For sure?"

She nods, an echoing smile visible between her fingers. He tugs her hands away from her face and kisses her, full and warm. She laughs against his mouth and tosses her arms around his neck, tonguing sweetly against his lips. He lets himself get lost in it for a minute, licking into her mouth and thinking about a baby boy – baseball and soccer and plastic trucks and—

"Oh my God," he says after a minute. "We gotta tell Nick."

"That's what I was waiting for," she says wistfully, pulling down the corners of her mouth in an exaggerated little frown. "I wanted to tell you at the same time."

Joe digs around in his pocket for his phone and Demi laughs. 

"You can't tell him over the phone," she says. "This is huge news."

Joe kisses the side of her face. "Come on," he wheedles, using his grip around her waist to lift her up a little. "You know I suck at keeping secrets."

She shrieks as he picks her up, spinning her around the kitchen.

"Okay!" she says, laughing against his chin. "Okay, okay. Spoilsport."

Joe keeps his arm around her as he dials. 

"Hey," Nick says. "What's up? I'm—"

"Are you driving?" Joe interrupts.

"Uh, no? I'm—"

"Am I on speakerphone?" 

Nick huffs. "No. What is with you?"

Demi claps her hands together and brings them to her mouth, her smile getting bigger. Joe grins at her.

"We're having a boy," he says into the phone. There's a pause and a quick intake of breath.

"Seriously?" 

"Yup," Joe says, pulling Demi against him a little tighter. 

Nick lets out a war whoop so loud Joe holds the phone away from his ear, and Demi bursts into giddy laughter.

"I love you, Nick," she hollers into the receiver. "Get your butt over here."

"Definitely do that," Joe says, hoisting Demi up again. "We're starting the celebratory sex right now. You can catch the last act if you hurry."

Demi yelps as Joe starts carrying her toward the bedroom, and Nick laughs in his ear.

"I hate you. I'm getting in the car right now."

"It's a boy," Joe says again, just liking the way it sounds.

"Of course it is," Nick says, and even though he's on the other side of the city, Joe knows the exact smug, proud expression that's on his face. "I'll be home soon."

*

Demi gets too big for normal clothes that month, and her girlfriends take her out for a maternity shopping spree.

"You don't want my opinion on stuff?" Joe says when she's heading out the door. "I'm kind of a fashion icon, you know."

Demi smiles and chucks him under the chin.

"I love you, Joseph," she says, "but there's photographic evidence of you wearing purple jeans. I think I'm good."

"Burn," Nick intones from his armchair, holding his hand up for a high-five as she passes. 

Demi slaps his hand and kisses the top of his head, but she adds, "Two words: yellow manpris."

"Hey," Nick says, turning to look after her. Demi grins and blows them a kiss before pirouetting out the door.

"I think that counts as spousal abuse," Joe says sadly, plopping down on the couch.

She comes home with five bags of clothes and aching feet, but she puts on a little fashion show with her favorites.

"What do you think?" she says, giving them a spin in her last dress. It's the kind of thing she would have worn before the pregnancy, just cut a little differently. "Dani helped me pick it out. She's got a good eye for this stuff. I'm not really good at planning around this guy."

She touches her belly fondly. Heat spikes in Joe's gut, but he just smiles.

"You look beautiful," Nick says, his voice quiet. He's not really the kind of person to dish out praise, so every time he says something like that Demi goes a little pink. It makes her look even prettier.

"Yeah, that's me," she says, ruffling her hair and posing like she's at a photo shoot. "My baby bump brings all the boys to the yard."

Joe watches Nick's eyes narrow a little, a smile playing around his lips.

"You are," he says mildly, like it's just a fact. "You—" Nick shakes his head, his smile getting bigger, and crooks a finger at her. "Come here."

Demi laughs as she crosses the room and perched on Nick's lap. His hand looks so big around her waist, huge when it rests on swell of her baby – their baby – through the purple fabric of her dress. Demi looks down at it and smiles, her hand covering Nick's, and messes with the band of silver on his finger. It's identical to the wedding bands she and Joe wear, a coincidence no one would ever notice.

"You like 'em knocked up, huh?" she teases, resting her cheek against Nick's forehead and smiling over at Joe. 

"I like you like this," Nick says, tapping his fingers there lightly.

She slides a hand around the back of Nick's neck, her fingers pale where they peek through his dark curls. There's something indescribably sweet about her voice, the way she touches him. She's going to be an awesome mom, Joe thinks, warm with the idea.

"I like it, too," she says, almost conspiratorially. "You guys are gonna have to make sure this little guy has a sibling."

"Maybe a brother," Joe says. Nick smiles over at him and raises his eyebrows.

"I thought you always wanted girls."

"I do," he admits. "But I want boys, too."

"God," Demi laughs. "It's a good thing you jerks are rich. We're going to have a full house."

"Yeah," Joe grins, scooting his chair closer. Demi tugs on his bangs, her manicured nails scraping a little at the roots. He leans into the touch, happy and unabashed. "It's gonna be awesome."

*

With every passing day it feels more and more like their own little world. 

Other people weave in and out of it, but when the company leaves and it's just the three of them, it's easy to forget that it's all a big secret. It feels normal, and maybe that's a bad thing – maybe he shouldn't let himself fall in love with the sight of Nick singing to Demi's stomach, or the feeling of waking up in a bed with two other people. It's hard to not let it go to his head, though; after a lifetime of being watched, doing everything behind closed doors and knowing photographers are only a few steps behind him, Joe loves this.

He loves it with a depth that almost scares him at times, because it's hard to believe it's built to last. Nick's still so young – just nineteen, not really old enough to commit to anything. But then, Nick's never acted his age. He takes to the new dad thing with a level of enthusiasm that Joe hadn't expected, but is somehow so... Nick. He reads all the books he can get his hands on, reads consumer reports on car seats and toys. 

He takes Demi to one of her ultrasound appointments in May, and two days later Joe catches him sitting in the den with his favorite guitar and his computer, stringing together a song that's light and breezy and sweet.

"Are you seriously—" Joe starts, and Nick just shrugs and rubs at the back of his neck.

"We're the Jonas Brothers," he says. "We're not singing our kid other people's lullabies when we can write our own."

"You're totally freaking ridiculous," Joe says, plopping next to him on the couch. "I hope you know that."

"How could I forget?" Nick steals his soda and takes a sip. "You remind me every day."

They end up working on it together, even though Nick shoots down most of his lyrical suggestions with long-suffering sighs and the occasional _you can't rhyme anything with tubular, dork_.

When Demi comes home from her yoga class she joins them on the couch. She grumbles good-naturedly about how she can't hold a guitar right anymore, so Nick gives her the neck of it, letting her fingers make the chords he strums. Joe claps to keep time and sings along, substituting better words for the boring ones Nick insisted on. It makes Demi laugh every time, which is almost as great as the way it makes Nick's mouth tense irritably.

"We should make a kid's album," Demi says after a while, stretching her arms out over her head. "Like, a really cool kid's album."

"What does cool kid's music sound like?" Joe says. 

"I dunno," she shrugs, grinning. "But I'm sure some cool kids like us could figure it out."

"I'm down," Nick says. "I bet Kevin would be, too."

It's not like any of them have much else to do, so it becomes a project. They spend the next few weeks messing around with chord progressions and lyrics they've all jotted down and never used, putting new words to "The Hokey-Pokey," piecing together acoustic versions of their favorite Disney songs, and cracking each other up.

It reminds Joe of the days when this all first started, when they would sit outside their trailers on set and work on Demi's first album. He and Nick used to go home afterwards and talk about how awesome she was, how much they liked her. He never imagined they would ever end up here, like this.

In the fifth month they wind up back in the studio recording _The Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato: Something for the Kids_. 

The project gets some buzz, and Demi does a few magazine covers with titles like "Demi Lovato on Marriage, Family, and Rocking Motherhood" that fly off the shelves. Joe's almost surprised when he starts seeing his name in tabloids again. Some of that Camp Rock stigma is still there, and now that the fans are older they seem to be eating up this idea of a fairytale Disney marriage.

He thinks it's pretty comical that they're role models for young families, but Demi seems unfazed.

"They could do worse," she says. "We actually love each other. Nobody's cheating."

"Right," Joe says lightly. "We're all about traditional family values. Like... polygamy."

Nick laughs. "We're just keeping it Old Testament."

"Is that your next single?" Joe says, ducking Nick's punch.

"I think we're doing pretty okay if our biggest marital problem is too much love," Demi sniffs.

"Can't argue with that," Joe agrees, but the whole thing makes him wonder. 

He knows he's content to let his career take a back-burner for a while – his agent still calls him every now and then about scripts and potential projects, but he's not in a big hurry. Honestly, he could do without quite so much of the Jonas Brothers hype when he starts working again. But they all have jobs, lives, fans.

"When are you gonna take the Administration on tour again?" he says to Nick a few days later.

"Um." Nick tosses his pick down and rubs his face. "I don't know. Ask me in a few years."

Joe laughs and props his feet up on the coffee table. "A few years?"

Nick furrows his eyebrows at him. "I'm not – Joe, I'm not going anywhere."

"You don't have to put your career on hold," Joe says. "None of us have to stop doing our jobs when the baby comes."

"I know I don't need to. I want to." Nick rubs his palms against his knees. "I mean, I'm not going to stop playing or writing, but I don't want to leave you guys. There's nothing I wouldn't do for this family."

"This family," Joe echoes. Nick wets his lips and smiles a little.

"Our family," he says. "This is all I want. Taking care of Demi and the baby. And you."

"I'm pretty self-sufficient," Joe grins. Nick rolls his eyes.

"You'd burn the house down if I wasn't here," he says fondly.

Joe catches his hand and thumbs at his wrist. "I know you miss it," he says after a minute. "Dude, seriously, don't even pretend. I see how excited you get when we're in the studio. You love that."

"Yeah," Nick says, shrugging. "And I love you. I've always—" He looks down at his lap and smiles a little, like he's trying to find just the right words. "I've always loved you too much. Like, way more than I should. And when we were younger I thought I'd just have to get over it, or deal with the fact that I couldn't have what I want. But, like, this is it. This is a way for us to be together. Demi and the baby are a part of it. I wouldn't give this – I wouldn't give you up for anything. So fuck my career for right now, okay?"

Nick won't quite look at him, his gaze steely and severe as he stares at the coffee table. 

Joe just studies him for a second, taking in his squared shoulders and tense jaw. It makes something in his chest ache. He doesn't know how it's possible to love two people as much as he does. He loves Demi so much it makes him feel a little crazy, but Nick – Nick has always been there in his heart, as long as he can remember. Joe can't even imagine doing any of this without him.

"Come here," he says, catching Nick around the shoulders and tugging him against his chest. Nick laughs and squirms like he might try to get away, but Joe holds him tight, pressing his face into Nick's curls for a long time.

*

Right around the sixth month Demi really starts filling out. The cravings hit her with a vengeance, and she starts eating all kinds of crazy food that goes straight to her hips and thighs and chest. And it's kind of weird, because for all the protectiveness Joe feels, for all the ways she looks more and more delicate, he just wants to _fuck_ her all the time. 

He never even thought about this kind of thing before, but now it's inescapable, always on his mind. It gets him so hot to see her like this, the way her body keeps changing and getting curvier. Most of his life he's drawn careful, clear lines between himself and girls, their prettiness something he had to steel himself against. But now this one – the only one he ever crossed that line for – is somehow getting girlier and prettier every day. He can't get over the idea that he and Nick did that to her, made her this round and soft and ripe.

Joe's not totally sure which one of them starts talking about it during sex, but at some point it starts spilling over, becoming one of those things they whisper at each other mid-thrust.

The first time it really hits him, they're stretched out on the bed with Demi between them. He's tucked up behind her, sliding in nice and deep, one hand cupping the curve of her belly.

"You're so big," he whispers against her ear, not even thinking to check the thought when it crosses his mind. "So full of our baby."

She shuts her eyes and whimpers, clenching around his cock. 

He slips his hand down, finding Nick's fingers where he's rubbing her. She's so wet she's practically dripping. 

"God, Joe," she breathes, even though it's Nick she pulls in for a kiss.

"You like that?" Nick says when they break apart. Joe's pretty sure he created a monster that night he pushed her to say _cock_ , because now it's like a weird game they play, like Demi and Nick are trying to out-dirty each other for his benefit. "You like Joe filling you up?"

Demi nods, her thick hair rubbing against Joe's lips. 

"Both of you," she says, her voice low and scratchy. "You don't even know how good it is. The baby's just – it's like you're always in me."

"Yeah," Joe says, rocking in deep and brushing his thumb over one of her sensitive nipples. Her whole body tenses as she comes, the heat of her cunt pulling around his dick in slippery, hot pulses.

"God," she says, arching and grinding back against him, pushing until he bottoms out, all the way in. "I love it. I love being like this because of you. Having your baby. God, Joe, please come inside me, please, I want to feel it—"

Nick sucks in a sharp breath, and Joe fumbles for his cock, giving it a squeeze that makes Nick's face go slack.

"Yeah," he whispers again. His cock twitches in her, a little wad of precome slipping out. "Yeah, I'll – come in you." He sucks on his lip, his hips jerking and driving into her with hard, deep strokes he can't even control. It's too hot, hitting him right where it hurts, tapping into all this need and love and awe. "I'll fill you up with it, Demi. I'll get you so wet – make you _drip_ with—"

Joe's fist goes tight around Nick's cock as it hits him, the pressure building until he's actually doing it, shooting off in her as deep as he can.

"Yes," she gasps, dropping her face against Nick's shoulder. "Yes, Joe, oh—"

"We got you," Nick says, gripping her hip.

Time seems to stretch into nothingness as Joe comes, his brain reeling over and over again with what it all means – his knocked-up wife, his baby brother, this kid they've made together. Knowing they love it as much as he does. It all comes tearing out of him, and he's not even sure whose name he's huffing against Demi's throat as he jerks through the last of it.

"Wow," she says afterwards, panting up at the ceiling. "That was awesome."

Joe laughs, breathless and a little delirious as Nick drops kisses against her pretty face.

*

Joe comes back from the gym one afternoon and finds the two of them in the bedroom. They don't hear him come in, so he lingers in the hallway and listens to Demi coach Nick on talking to the baby.

"What am I supposed to say?" he says. Demi laughs and Joe smiles involuntarily.

"Whatever you want. The important thing is just that he hears your voice. He'll recognize it after he's born."

Joe leans in the doorway and watches Nick bend over to talk directly to her stomach. Demi catches his eye over Nick's head and puts a finger to her smiling lips.

"Hey, baby," Nick says. He glances up at Demi, who turns her shushing sign into a thoughtful chin tap just in time. She nods at him and raises her eyebrows. Nick laughs a little. "I'm Nick. I'm your, uh, dad, I guess. But not the one you usually hear from."

"Tell him what you've been working on," Demi says quietly.

"I'm writing you some songs," Nick says, touching a hand to her belly. He ducks his head a little, but Joe can tell he's smiling. "That's what your parents do. You should hear your mom sing, she's awesome."

"His dads are pretty good, too," she says, petting Nick's hair away from his face.

"I hope you like music," Nick says. "That's kind of a prerequisite for being a Jonas."

Demi smiles suddenly. "He's moving," she says, grabbing Nick's hand and sliding it to the side of her stomach. "Feel that?"

Nick lets out a surprised laugh. "Yeah. He knows what I'm talking about." He rests his forehead on her stomach, his voice dropping so low Joe can barely hear it. "You're gonna be a musician, huh? Even better than us. We'll teach you everything."

He gets better at it after that. He's not quite as easy about it as Joe, who still likes to ramble at Demi's belly like it's going to answer him, but Joe catches him telling the baby random stories, or whispering about what they're going to do when he's born. On one particular occasion he holds a regular filibuster, relating the entire story of the band's rise to fame.

"I'm sure he's only going to hear about that thirty thousand times in his life," Joe says.

"In his life?" Demi says. "Try before he's eighteen."

"Hey," Nick says, patting Demi's bump. "It's an inspirational story about overcoming the odds."

"Face it, dude," Joe says, digging his fingers into Nick's side in a lazy tickle. "You're gonna be one of those dads who's like, 'when I was your age, we had to walk five miles backwards in the snow to cut a record'."

Demi laughs when Nick mashes his lips together irritably. 

"Aw, it's cute," she says. "And it ties in nicely with the story of how we met."

"We can just rent him the movie," Joe says. "It's got a better plot, and he can fully appreciate how awesome my hair was."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what she fell in love with first," Nick says dryly. "Chicks dig flat irons."

"Don't listen to him," Joe says to Demi's belly. "He's just resentful that I didn't get the 'fro gene."

"Shut up, I love curly hair," Demi says, stroking Nick's away from his face. "I hope it doesn't skip a generation."

Nick catches her hand and smiles.

*

Joe starts teaching Nick how to cook that month, which results in a lot of burnt casseroles and indignant huffing.

"I think there's something wrong with this oven," Nick grumbles when he successfully manages to ruin enchiladas for the third time.

"Dude, don't blame the oven," Joe says, putting his hands on either side of it like he's covering its nonexistent ears. "You just need to keep an eye on what you put in. Cooking requires patience, Nicholas."

"This is why God invented take-out," Nick says, but he sticks around to watch Joe make another batch.

"Whoa," Demi says the night they make chicken curry. They're all sitting around the living room while the plates soak, Demi sprawled on the couch. She sits up and touches a hand to her stomach, laughing. "The littlest Jonas is not impressed."

"Really?" Joe shifts around where he's sitting on the floor. Her belly is warm under his palm, and he grins when he feels the baby kick against it. "No way, he's just giving his compliments to the chef."

Nick reaches over from where he's slumped against Joe's shoulder and feels for it, too, his hand overlapping both of theirs.

"That's definitely some unhappy kicking, dude," he says.

"Tch, whatever." Joe rubs his thumb against the side of Nick's hand. "It'll put hair on his chest."

Demi laughs, the sound light and tinkly. "I don't think he needs any help in that department, monkey-boy."

Nick snickers and taps at the bump, getting another kick in response that they can all feel.

It's one of those things they don't really talk about, which of them is actually the father. It's not like they'd really be able to tell, anyway, Joe figures; he and Nick are brothers, so it's all kind of the same gene pool. Sometimes he doesn't even know which he wants more – for the baby to be his or Nick's. 

He loves her, he really does, and he wants her to have his children. But he also wants to see something that's the both of them. He wants to see what these two people, his baby brother and this beautiful girl, look like mixed together. He wants their baby to have Nick's pointy nose, Nick's smooth curls, Nick's plush mouth. He wants Demi's laugh and cheerful attitude tangled up with Nick's quiet intensity and brooding soul.

None of them know if they'll be able to tell the difference, but sometimes Joe thinks he will. He'd know Nick anywhere.

*

Demi insists on fixing up the nursery without any outside help. Just family – her mom, their mom, her sister and Danielle. Kevin even comes over to offer his opinion on the various shades of yellow she paints on the walls.

"I like the butterscotch," he says thoughtfully. "It'll go great with the cream curtains."

Demi taps her chin as she studies it. She looks like a kid herself in her painting overalls and bandana, and Joe drops a kiss against her temple, earning himself a toothy smile.

"I kinda like the 'Sunny Meadow' one," she says. "I want it to be really bright, you know? Like, super happy."

"Have you thought about the trim?" Danielle asks. 

"Dinosaurs," Joe says immediately, and Demi elbows him. 

"Dinosaur prints don't come in yellow," she laughs.

"That's lame. There could totally be yellow dinosaurs."

"Ducks are yellow," Nick says, folding his arms as he leans against the one wall Demi hasn't covered with paint swatches

"I like birds," Demi agrees.

Joe gives a long, weary sigh. "The next one is getting a green room with dinosaurs."

Kevin and Danielle both laugh at that.

"Already planning for the next one," Dani says, sharing a look with Demi. "We married into the Waltons, didn't we?"

"They're certainly diligent." 

"Hey, go forth and multiply, right?" Joe says, hooking his arm over Demi's shoulders. "I'm just doing the Lord's work."

"Oh, is that what you call it?" Demi says, shoving him when Joe waggles his eyebrows.

"How about you, Uncle Nick?" Kevin says. "You gonna settle down any time soon?"

Nick shrugs. "You never can tell."

"Sure he will," Joe says. "Have you met this kid? Nick J doesn't do anything halfway. He's gonna have one of those freaky families on the Discovery Channel with, like, twenty babies."

Nick rolls his eyes, but everyone laughs.

"That might be nice," Demi says thoughtfully, resting her hand on her belly. Nick just smiles down at his shoes, but Joe thinks there might be something wistful about it.

"How is this all going to work?" Joe says that night when they're all lazing in bed. "I mean, the kid can't know what's up."

Nick shrugs. "I'll just be the most awesome uncle ever."

"But you're not," Joe says.

"I know. And you guys know, so, whatever. It doesn't really matter who they call 'dad'."

"You are, though," Demi says. "Never forget that. That's really important."

Nick shuts his eyes and smiles. "I'm not going to forget," he says quietly.

Demi kisses his forehead then, her mouth moving in a trail of smooches that he leans into, catching her lips with his own. They kiss for a long moment, slow and soft, sending a flush of warmth through Joe's limbs as he watches.

"You're one-third of this marriage," Demi says seriously, thumbing at one of Nick's sharp eyebrows. "And you're the father of this baby."

Nick ducks his head a little, a blush tinting his cheeks, but he looks her in the eye when he says, "Yeah."

It should make him jealous, Joe's pretty sure. He can see that idea objectively, logically, but it's the furthest thing from his heart. He wants this for Nick, and for Demi. He wants them to have each other, to love each other like he loves the both of them.

Nick kisses her again, shutting his eyes as it deepens. Joe can see the wet flutter of tongue moving between them, the way Demi's leg catches around Nick's as she leans into it. His heart feels so full it almost aches.

"You should get some sleep," Nick says after a while, when the kiss breaks off and they're just gazing at each other. "You look exhausted."

"Yeah," she says. "I've been getting pretty tuckered out lately."

"No rest for the wickedly awesome," Joe says, sliding in close behind her. Demi laughs and lets them sandwich her there, resting her face against Nick's shoulder.

Nick's arm slides around her, his knuckles rubbing lightly at Joe's stomach, and they smile at each other over her head.

*

Demi kicks them out of the house every couple of weeks for her night with the girls – which, from what Joe can tell, is an excuse to eat lots of junk food and be really hormonal while her friends gush about the baby.

"Go bro out," she says, waving a hand. "Hit the clubs. Make mistakes. Sow your wild oats."

"I thought that's what we have you for," Nick teases, giving a dramatic little _oof_ when she punches his stomach.

Sometimes they do hang out with the guys from the band, or hit a smaller venue concert, but most nights they wind up at Nick's quiet little apartment with a giant pizza, watching a war movie and making out on his several-thousand-dollar, barely-ever-used couch.

"We need to pick out a name," Joe says one of these occasions, carding his fingers through Nick's hair. "Can we please be those celebrities who name their kid something crazy? Because, I mean, Moonbeam Laserdome Jonas has a really cool ring to it."

Nick pinches at his side up under his t-shirt. "No," he says flatly. He taps his fingers there against Joe's ribs, and then adds, "It should be Biblical."

"Deuteronomy?" Joe suggests. Nick bites at his neck. 

"Please."

"Ezekiel Jonas?" Joe's voice gets muffled as he strips his t-shirt off. "Zeke for short?"

"You aren't even trying," Nick laughs, thumbing open the fly of Joe's jeans. "We're not naming it Jesus, either, so don't bother asking."

"But that's the best one," Joe complains. Nick slides down between his legs and tugs his pants down, pulling out his cock. Joe bites his lip and watches it thicken in Nick's fist, flushing hard as he strokes it. "Man, way to rape me. Do baby names get you hot?"

Nick smiles a little as he squeezes him, shifting closer so Joe can tug open his jeans. "No." He shuts his eyes when Joe finds his cock, stiff and tucked up against the waistband of his boxers. "But, uh, your mouth kinda does."

"You're such a sweet-talker, Nicholas," Joe says, giving him a deep pull. His dick jerks a little against Joe's hand, eager and flushed.

"That's nothing," Nick says, catching his bottom lip with his teeth. He twists his hand around Joe's dick. "You don't even want to know the kind of stuff I don't actually say."

"Yeah?" Joe's suddenly curious, his eyes narrowing a little. "Like what?"

Nick shakes his head and shrugs. "Uh, I mean – I don't know." 

He jerks Joe a little faster, like it might distract him from pushing the subject.

"Come on," Joe urges, arching up into that touch. He gives Nick's cock a sharp, deliberate squeeze. "I wanna hear it. Show me what a perv you are."

"I like watching you with her," Nick says abruptly, his voice low. He shuts his eyes, color rising in his cheeks, but he keeps going. "I like watching you – _fuck_ her, when she's like this. I don't even care whose it is, it's like she's got this part of you in her. Like you're all over her. In her. Even when I am."

Joe groans and thrusts into Nick's hand, his own thumb catching at the precome welling up in Nick's slit.

"I know," he says, a funny little thrill going through him at the admission. "I love how she's so – ugh, she just wants it so bad, you know? She loves it."

Nick nods, his curls bouncing a little. "I love it, too. I love—" He's actually blushing, Joe realizes, the red in his cheeks too dark for a normal sex flush. He rests his forehead against Joe's shoulder for a second, thrusting right into his hand. "I love knowing she's pregnant. She's gonna be – somebody's mom."

"Jeez," Joe breathes, the weight of that idea hitting him all at once. It's so dirty, so fucking filthy, but it's true. He slips his hand down to touch Nick's balls, squeezing them lightly. Nick hisses, his hand tightening around Joe's cock. 

Joe leans up to kiss him, catching his soft mouth and sucking at his bottom lip.

"She's ours," he mutters, relishing the idea. "After this she's always, always gonna be ours. Our kid's mom. We did that, we – we—"

He shakes his head, his whole body tensing up with that feeling, that knowledge that him and Nick did that together, that this thing between them is still so strong. 

"Ours," Nick pants, like he just wants to hear that word again. "You and me. God, Joe, you—"

His hips stutter sharply as he comes, just like that. It spatters up Joe's chest, the first shot catching in the dip of his collarbone and the rest trailing down, dripping into his pubes. Joe milks the last of it out of him, flexing his grip around Nick's cock until it's just twitching, the slit opening around the last oozing drips.

"Joe," he says again, his voice scratchy. He shifts his weight to his knees, straightening up so he can look down at him. It has to be a sight: he's still hard in Nick's hand, his chest streaked with come. Nick bites his lip, nostrils flaring a little as he sighs and studies him. "You're mine, too, right? Just as much as she is."

Joe's eyes shut tight as Nick rubs at the head of his cock, teasing out another little dribble of precome. He knows it's true, more so right then than ever before. He's Nick's in a way that goes deeper than brothers, deeper than guys who mess around. As weird as it is, as little sense as it makes, they're doing this together. They're way past the point of no return.

"Yeah," he breathes. "Yeah, you know I am."

Nick's eyes narrow, his jerks going sharp and deliberate, and it doesn't take much for Joe's line of thinking to crash right into how much Nick is his, too. He's such a little man now. There's still something teenage about the shape of his face, like the prettiness of his features hasn't quite faded away, but he's – he's a _dad_. This kid, his baby brother, his Nick is going to be someone's father.

"Oh fuck," Joe blurts, the shock of it shoving him right over the edge. Nick's strokes go slow and deep, stringing it out as Joe shoots off, streaking come up across the spatters of Nick's load. 

"Nice one," Nick says when Joe finally slumps against the cushions, his hair sticking to his sweaty face. 

Joe's harsh breaths dissolve into a laugh. He raises a sticky hand that Nick slaps, gripping it once their palms meet. Joe uses it to pull him down into something like a hug, smearing that mess of come between them as Nick settles against his chest.

"Love you," Joe says against Nick's temple. Nick threads their fingers together, and Joe can feel his smile and sense his eye-roll.

"You too," he says, voice muffled. "But you're still not naming our kid Jesus."

*

The subject doesn't come up again for another week or two, although Demi invests in a couple of what-to-name-your-baby books.

"Who would name their kid Gregory?" she says, wrinkling her nose. "These names all suck. Maybe we should just use a family one."

"The world doesn't need any more Kevin Jonases," Joe says, rubbing her feet. She wriggles her toes.

"I don't like Patrick, either," she says. "So I guess our dads are out."

"Jonah," Nick says out of nowhere.

"Jonah Jonas?" Joe says skeptically. "That's even worse than my name. Which is, like, really saying something."

"I kinda like it," Demi says, a slow smile curling up her mouth. "It's sort of like naming him after you, but a little different. Not confusing."

"But I might not even be the dad," Joe argues. "We shouldn't name him after me."

"So?" Nick moves over to perch on the arm of the couch, nudging his knee against Joe's side. "What makes you think I wouldn't want to name my kid after you?"

Joe smiles and looks away.

"You're such a girl," he say, elbowing at Nick's leg. Nick shoves him back, and Demi's foot-rub gets forgotten in the ensuing scuffle.

"Hey, wait," Demi says when Nick's doing his best to give Joe a noogie. "If this kid is Jonah, does this make me the whale?"

Nick meets Joe's gaze and they both dissolve into laughter. Demi joins in after a second, collapsing back against the couch cushions.

"I hate you guys," she says, lifting her foot to give Joe's chin a little kick.

"Nope," Nick says, grabbing for her foot and squeezing it. "You love us."

"Maybe," she concedes. "If you get me some ice cream."

He grins at her. "Mint or strawberry?"

"Both," Demi grins back. "With chocolate syrup."

"You're gross," Joe says, pinching her knee.

Nick hits him upside the head. "She's having our kid. She's allowed to be gross."

"Wow, that's almost sweet," Demi says.

Nick laughs, but he rounds the couch and kisses her so long and deep that Joe coughs pointedly. They ignore him and just smile stupidly at each other for a minute.

"It's a good thing you're pretty," Demi says when Nick retreats to the kitchen.

"Hey!" 

She shrugs and grins. "I just call 'em like I see 'em."

"You love me," Joe says dismissively.

"For some reason," she agrees, but she bursts into laughter when he tickles her foot.

 _Ours_ , Joe thinks. Ours, ours, ours.

*

They spend a ridiculous amount of time shopping for nursery furniture, debating styles and safety hazards. The day after it's all delivered, Joe finds Demi sitting in her wooden rocking chair, one hand on her stomach as she hums a John Mayer song to herself. 

He sidles up behind the chair, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and kissing her temple as he chimes in.

"Girls become lovers," he hums against her ear, laughing when she smiles and turns her face against his, "who turn into mothers, so mothers..."

"Stop," she says, covering his mouth. "I'm finally over the weepies, and you're gonna make me cry."

"No crying," he says against her palm, making like he's going to bite it when she drops her hand away. He kisses her lightly and threads their fingers together. "What are you up to?"

Demi shrugs and looks around at the room. "Just thinking about stuff. We've only got a few more months."

"Excited?" He follows her gaze to the trim he and Nick put up a few weeks ago, the little cartoon ducks waddling around the top of the walls. 

"Yeah," she says. "Really excited."

"Me too."

She turns to look at him again. "Do you think I'll be a good mom?"

"I think you're gonna be an awesome mom," he says honestly. "Every baby should have a mom like you."

Demi rolls her eyes and grins. "Is it weird that I can't imagine not doing this? I mean, like, it was so weird to think about at first, but now I just want to have more. I want you and Nick—"

She looks away and bites her lip, smiling as she shakes her head.

"Say it," Joe says quietly, nudging the side of her face with his knuckles.

She lifts an eyebrow a little when she meets his gaze again.

"I want you guys to knock me up. Like, for real. I want you to try this time, so I'll know. I want—" She ducks her head again, but she says it evenly. "I want to know when you come in me that I'm getting pregnant."

" _Yeah_ ," he says in a huff. "I want that too."

Her grin gets a little wider, and Joe's fingers tighten around hers as a sweet, dizzying rush of heat hits him.

"Let's start right now," he says, straightening up and tugging on her hand. Demi laughs as she pushes herself out of the rocking chair and lets him lead her out of the room.

"It doesn't really work like that, Einstein," she says.

"I don't care," he says, ducking into the den as they pass. "Nick! Come on, we're gonna try to make a twin."

Nick snorts and tosses his pen on the coffee table. "She's right, it doesn't work like that."

He trails after them, though, stripping his clothes off and stretching out next to Demi when Joe slides in behind her.

"Ms. Lovato here was just telling me about how much she wants us to get her pregnant after this one's born," Joe says, kicking off his boxers.

Nick grins a little, saying "Yeah?" at the same time Demi groans Joe's name.

"Come on," he says against her ear, running a hand up her bare side. "Tell Nick what you told me."

He can tell a blush is rising in her cheeks, but she elbows at him and does it.

"I just said I want us to do it like this when – you know, it'll work. So every time we do it, we know we're actually making a baby."

Nick wets his lips, and you'd probably have to know him as well as Joe does to see the way his features suddenly go sharp, his gaze going steely.

"You want to know when you're getting knocked up?" he says, his voice low.

Demi shifts a little and nods, letting out a hard sigh. "Yeah."

"I think we can do that," Nick says, glancing at Joe over her shoulder.

Joe slips his hand down the back of her thigh, nudging her open around the head of his dick.

"That's what I said." He slides forward, rolling his hips until he bottoms out inside her. She makes a soft, breathless noise, tensing a little and then easing back against his chest. "We can totally knock her up again. I mean, we weren't even—" Joe pulls out, almost all the way, and then rocks back in. "— _trying_ before."

"Yeah, really," Nick says. "Imagine how fast we could do it when we put in a little elbow grease."

"That what you want, Dem?" Joe says against her ear. "You want us to try? You know how – competitive Nick is. He'd just be doing you all the time."

"Yeah," she says, leaning her face against Nick's. "Yeah, God, that sounds good."

"All the time," Nick repeats, stroking his thumb down the side of her neck. "You want that? Want to be full of our come all the time?"

Demi lets out a shuddery sigh, and Joe can feel her getting even wetter around his dick.

"I want that so much. I want you to keep me full of it. Just make me take it, show me how bad you want it."

"What?" Nick pushes, his breaths coming a little quicker. Joe can tell he's saying all this crap for his own benefit as much as Demi's, winding up just as tightly as she is. "How bad I want to get you pregnant? Or how bad I want to watch Joe come in you and know he's the one doing it?"

"Fuck," she whispers, her hand flying to clutch at Joe's arm as she rocks back against him.

"Yeah," Joe says. "You really like that, huh? Are you gonna come for me? Thinking about me and Nick filling you up with babies?"

He slams in again and she lets out a ragged, breathless noise against Nick's mouth. Joe can feel the way she flutters and squeezes around his dick, her whole body going tight and desperate.

"That's it," Nick says, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

Joe doesn't slow down – he just fucks her right through it, letting her ride it out in time with those steady, deep thrusts.

"Oh my God," she finally says, her tone loose with breathless laughter.

"That a good one?" Nick says, his gaze moving back to her pink face. He lifts his eyebrows a little, and Joe bites his lip as he slows his strokes. 

Demi nods, catching Nick's hand and winding their fingers together.

"He's so deep," she says, voice hitching as Joe slides in again. "Right – right where I want it."

Joe kisses the side of her neck, grinding his hips against her ass and relishing the sharp, surprised noise she makes.

"Right there?" he says. "Right up by our baby?"

Demi's head tips back against his shoulder, her whole body shuddering as she comes again. It's maybe the hottest thing Joe's ever seen, much less felt. He can't even believe she can do it so many times, that he can reduce her to this that quickly.

"Yeah," Nick breathes, reaching across her to touch Joe's hip, feel it when he slips out a little and drives right back up to that deep place inside her. "That's totally what she wants. You gotta come there, Joe. Fill her up. God, you'd – you really would knock her up again, wouldn't you?" The words spill out fast, tripping over each other as his nails dig into Joe's skin. "Just f-fucking cream her all the time. You want that, Dem? You want Joe to _cream_ you?"

"God," she groans, the word tearing out of her. Her cunt squeezes around him tightly. She's so wet; it's dripping all over the inside of her thighs, running down his cock. "Yeah, God, I want it. Both of you, I want – all of it—"

Joe grips her hip as he comes in her, shooting off deep. Demi's breathing hitches as he empties himself in her, holding her fast as that load spatters inside. 

"That's so good," she says, voice hazy. 

He thrusts again, driving into that messy load and smearing it around. 

"Yeah," he breathes against her neck. "That's what you wanted."

Nick groans a little, like he can't quite help it.

"I want—" He squeezes his eyes shut, his eyebrows knitting as he tries to get a grip. "I want to feel it."

Joe rocks against her a few more times, his dick losing another little load before he eases back.

"Come on, Nicky," he says. "She needs it bad."

Demi nods, letting Nick slide out of her arms. 

They switch places, climbing over her with ease born of practice, and Joe catches Nick in a kiss before he lays down. Nick's practically shaking with how bad he wants it, but he lingers there, tonguing at Joe's mouth and gripping his hair. 

"God, you two," Demi breathes, shifting a little between them. Her breath hitches and Joe knows she's touching herself. Nick knows it, too – Joe can tell from the way he groans a little, his teeth catching against Joe's bottom lip.

"Better give the lady what she wants," Joe says, planting another kiss on his little brother's chin before collapsing back down on the bed. 

Demi rolls back to face him, her eyes glazed and her skin flushed. She looks happy, though, like even in the midst of all this, she's totally content. He kisses her, the taste of Nick still on his mouth, slipping a hand down to grab her thigh and open her up a little.

Nick bites his lip as he guides himself in, and Joe just watches it – the way both their faces change, slackening at that sudden connection, that rush of heat.

"She's so wet, Joe," Nick breathes as he settles into her, drawing a ragged moan out of Demi. "You really – really gave it to her, huh?"

"Yup," Joe says. He pulls her leg over his hip, spreading her open and wrapping her around him. It's a little awkward, working around the swell of her belly, but he's gotten used to it. He kisses the tip of her nose, studying her face as Nick rocks into her. "That good?"

"Yeah," she huffs. "You're both so – different, but it's good -- God, I don't want anything but this, both of you."

Joe slips his hand down between them, finding the slickness of her cunt and rubbing at her clit. She's so hot there – all over, but right there he can feel how swollen she is. She really loves this, he thinks. She really loves them, just as much as they love each other.

"I know," Nick says, his mouth finding the place Joe sucked pink when he was fucking her. His pace is faster, almost impatient, his hand touching the curve of her stomach like he's holding her steady. "I can – can feel Joe's load in there. You feel it?"

"Yeah," she breathes against Joe's neck. "It's so good. Harder, Nick, I want—"

Nick lets out a harsh breath of laughter, the muscles of his shoulders flexing as he rams home. "Like that? You want me to really – fuck you? You're so greedy, God, you want me to fuck you full of come. _Don't you_?"

"Oh God," Demi says, only barely able to meet the kisses Joe drops across her face. 

She squirms, her clit pulsing under his fingers as she rolls through another one. Joe bites at her bottom lip, his fingers trailing back to where he can feel it – Nick's dick spreading her open, slipping in and out and pulling that load of jizz down. It's thicker than her own wetness, sticky and slimy in a different way.

"Wow," he whispers. "That load's dripping right out of you."

"Guess you'll – have to give her another one," Nick pants, arching his eyebrows at Joe over her sweaty shoulder. Joe grins at him and Nick grins back, his curls sticking to his forehead. 

Demi's full-on writhing between them, her hips jerking back to meet Nick's thrusts and then knocking forward against Joe's fingers.

"No one knows," she whispers, gripping Joe's wrist and holding his hand steady as she grinds against it. "They don't know I get both of you, that you're both – you both give it to me, give me all of it, k-knock me up. I'm – I'm having your – baby."

Nick's thrusts go ragged after a minute, harder and sharper as he gets closer.

"I'm—" He shuts his eyes, his hand flying out to grab Joe's arm, squeezing it like he's steadying himself. "God, I'm gonna—"

"Yeah," Demi whimpers. "Do it."

"Come on, Nicky." Joe leans in to press his face against Nick's. "Give it to her."

All he can think about is what she said earlier – doing this when she's all ripe and ready, fucking her just to knock her up again. He wants that so bad. He wants to see Nick unloading deep inside of her, give her load after load while she just _takes_ it.

Nick's eyebrows hitch, his mouth dropping open as it hits him. Joe watches the flush in his cheeks deepen, and he knows Nick's thinking what he's thinking – what they're all thinking – he's coming right where Joe just came.

"Yeah," Joe says softly, kissing Demi's forehead.

They just collapse there afterwards, a warm pile of sweaty limbs. Joe can't quite help himself, though; he has to see it. 

Demi chuckles a little when he slides down between her legs and touches her there, spreading her open and sliding in two fingers. She still feels tight around him, even after all that, squeezing his fingers in that sticky heat.

"Can you feel it?" Nick says smugly, like he already knows the answer.

"Yeah," Joe says, his spent cock jerking a little as he twists his fingers around in it. Their come, together, in her. 

He ducks his head in after a second so he can lick her, his eyes falling shut as she gasps. He's used to the taste of Nick's come, but it's different – he can taste his own, too, and taste her. His tongue catches in a fat glob of it, chasing it all the way up to her clit, and Demi's hand is suddenly digging into his hair.

"Oh my God," she gasps. "Oh my God, Joe, you – that's—"

"Way too hot," Nick says. "You're gonna make _me_ come again. Are you going for a world record?"

Joe gives her clit another roll of tongue before he leans back and wipes at his chin. "Come here," he says. "Try it."

Nick doesn't even hesitate; he just slides down, spreading Demi's legs a little wider as he leans in and puts his mouth on her. She sucks in another sharp breath, her eyes flying wide. 

Nick's got a mouth made for this kind of thing, all thick and plush and soft. Joe never gets sick of kissing him, and watching him eat her out is maybe even better. His eyes shut slowly, his lashes dark against his cheeks as his pink tongue slips over her skin. He really goes for it, licking deep inside where their come is still thick and sticky.

Joe moves up on the bed, watching Demi's face as Nick pushes her back towards the edge. He touches one of her full, round tits, thumbing over the nipple. Her hips jerk a little.

"Oh God," she breathes. "Do that again."

Joe gives it a little squeeze, pinching it lightly between his thumb and finger. "Good?"

"Yeah," she manages. 

Nick shifts, slipping his fingers into her as he licks at her clit, and when Joe leans over and runs his tongue across that nipple her whole body tightens, shuddering and clenching as she come again.

"Wow," Joe says. "I think that actually might have broken a world record."

Demi laughs, her clunky rings catching the light as she pushes her hair off her forehead.

"I want more," she admits a little sheepishly.

Nick laughs lowly.

"You're a handful, Lovato," he says, curling his finger in a way that makes her whole body shiver.

"Better – ah – get used to it," she says. "You're stuck with me."

*

"Okay, I'm officially the whale," Demi says halfway through her eighth month. "I accept my fate."

She's been achier than usual, her belly so big she constantly looks like she's going to pop. It would almost be funny, but Joe can't even look at her without feeling that familiar flush of heat down the back of his neck, his hands itching to touch her.

"You're the sexiest whale ever," he promises, pulling her into his lap. She rolls her eyes as he kisses her neck, but she settles there against him as best she can. Joe rubs her tummy, smiling when the baby kicks.

"He's full of it today," she says, looking down at his hand. "I think my ribs are bruised."

"Aw, he's just excited," Joe says, tapping his fingers where that foot was. "Aren't you, baby? You're just super psyched to see us. We're pretty psyched, too. You should see your other daddy. He's nesting worse than your mom."

Demi laughs and messes with his hair. "Where is your better half?"

"Um, the official line is that he's laying some guitar tracks at the studio," he says. "But between you and me, he's shopping for baby clothes."

"More clothes?" she groans. "This kid is going to have a bigger wardrobe than all of us combined."

"That's what you get for marrying me and my girl of a brother." Joe kisses her jaw and tightens his arms, squeezing her against his chest. "How are you doing, wife?"

She smiles and shrugs. "Another day, another reason to wish we adopted."

The baby gives another kick then, and they both laugh.

"Sorry, kiddo," she says to her stomach. "You better get used to sarcasm. This is a family of smart-alecks."

"Truer words," Joe says. He touches Demi's chin and tips her face towards his own, smiling gently. "You don't look like a whale. You're beautiful."

She kisses him, her lips tasting faintly of chapstick. "You're way too sweet."

"You still think you wanna do this again?"

Demi rests her hand over his and smiles. "Yup. It's a pain in the ass, but I kind of love it." She studies his face for a second, her dark eyes wide and thoughtful. Her voice is quiet when she speaks again, almost like a secret. "Do you think it's yours?"

Joe smiles a little, lifting his fingers so they wind around hers. It's not like he hasn't thought about it – wondered, sometimes, what sort of difference it might make. It's only right then that he knows the answer.

"It doesn't matter. Nick – Nick is just mine. So even if it's his, it's still mine." He pauses, the corner of his mouth twitching a little. "Does it matter to you?"

Demi shakes her head slowly. "You know you're the one I fell in love with first," she says, her voice still quiet. "And I'm really, really happy you're my husband. But I love Nick just as much. And this baby is going to be so loved, you know? No matter what, he belongs to all of us. You're both going to be such good dads, Joe."

He grins and nods, squeezing her fingers. 

"I don't ever want to know," he admits.

She squeezes back. "Me neither."

They both jump a little when Nick breezes through the door.

"Hey, lovebirds," he says, tossing his satchel in the nearest chair. He's got his keys and two shopping bags in hand, and Joe rolls his eyes.

"How was the studio?" he says pointedly.

"Eat me," Nick says cheerfully, dropping his other bags next to the couch. He ruffles up Joe's hair and kisses Demi on the cheek, squatting down to address her stomach. "How are you today, baby?"

"Fussy," Joe answers, shifting his hand so Nick can pull up the hem of Demi's shirt and kiss her belly.

"Yeah, I bet you are," he says tenderly, thumbing at her smooth skin. "Hang tight, buddy. you've only got a few more weeks."

"Four weeks," Demi says, touching the side of Nick's face. He smiles up at her.

"Who knows? Joe came early." The baby kicks again, and Nick's face goes dopey with delight. "Yeah, you're ready to come out of there, huh? I can't wait to meet you. Don't tell your mom, but I already bought you your first catcher's mitt. If the music thing doesn't work out, we'll make a ballplayer out of you."

Demi catches Joe's eye and smiles, mouthing _such good dads_ at him. His throat goes tight suddenly, his hand reaching out to touch Nick's hair as he babbles at their baby. 

He's just so happy. He didn't know people could be this happy.

*

The due date comes and goes without event. Nick and Joe spend most of the day staring at her expectantly, but around lunchtime Demi throws her hands in the air and says, "Sorry, boys, it ain't happening."

She spends the next few days waddling around grumpily, doing stretches and eating everything in the kitchen.

"I can't believe you guys did this to me," she says around her third helping of rocky road. Her tummy is so big she just balances her bowl on it. "I'm the size of a house, I can't do anything, and this baby is just going to be in here forever."

"We could have sex?" Joe offers. 

"The books say it can help start labor," Nick says innocently, flipping a guitar pick between his fingers.

Demi plops her spoon down in her ice cream and stares at them, and for a second Joe thinks they might have just earned themselves a night at Nick's apartment. Then she sets the bowl on the table.

"Come here," she says, peeling her t-shirt off.

It's another three days before she goes into labor. The anticipation has started to wear off a little, so when she calls Joe an hour after she goes out for lunch, he's not even really thinking about it.

"What's up, beautiful?" he says, tucking his Blackberry against his shoulder as he fights Nick for the remote.

"Joe," she says, her voice tight. "It's happening."

"What?" He pauses, one hand still held up awkwardly in Nick's direction. "Oh my God, for real?"

"No," she barks, semi-hysterically. "This is a practical joke. Get your ass to the hospital, this baby is coming out today."

Nick's the one who drives, which Joe is pretty grateful for. 

"Are we ready for this?" he says as Nick weaves them through traffic. "Is the house even baby-proofed?"

"Breathe," Nick says shortly, white-knuckling the steering wheel. "He isn't even going to be crawling for months."

Demi's already having major contractions when they get to the room.

"Oh thank God," she says when they stumble in, dropping her head back on the pillow. Joe grabs her hand and squeezes it, glancing at the only nurse in the room.

"What's going on?"

"Everything's normal," she says kindly. "She's already had an epidural. We're just waiting for the contractions to get closer together."

"They're pretty – damn close," Demi huffs. She squeezes Joe's fingers and glances over at Nick, who's lingering by the door. "Get over here, you – dope."

Nick looks over at the nurse and sidles closer, his shoulders a little stiff as he comes up on the other side of the bed.

"Am I even supposed to, like, be in here?" he says.

"Of course," she says, grabbing his hand. "Families are allowed to – oh, crap."

She sucks in a tight breath and shuts her eyes, and Nick looks over at him with huge eyes. Joe shrugs and breathes along with her, hee-heeing and ho-hoing like they learned in Lamaze class.

"Should we call people?" Nick finally says. "Like, Mom and Dad and Kevin and everyone?"

Demi's grip loosens a little as the contraction fades, and she blows out a slow breath.

"Not yet. It's – he's coming soon, I can feel it, and I don't want—" She glances back and forth between them. "I want it to just be us at first."

"Yeah," Joe says, brushing her bangs off her forehead. "Whatever you want."

She's right, of course. It's less than a hour before the doctor is called in, and suddenly everything is happening all at once – the pushing, the panting, the crowd of nurses and beeping machines.

"You got this," Nick says when the baby is crowning. He leans in next to her, shaking the hand he's holding in a reassuring way. "You're so amazing, Demi. You can do this."

Joe kisses her knuckles and Nick settles for rubbing his thumb across the back of he hand he's got. Demi looks back and forth between them as she catches her breath, and then nods.

"Let's become parents," she says to the ceiling, and starts pushing like she really means it.

*

Nick and Joe perch on either side of the bed as the nurse carries the baby over and places him in Demi's arms.

"Oh my God," she whispers, brushing the edge of the blanket away from his face. "He's perfect."

He's tiny and pink and his face is all smushy, but Joe's thinking the same thing.

"Hey," Nick says quietly, in that same voice he's been using on Demi's belly for months. He touches a careful finger to the baby's little toes. "Is this that foot we've been seeing?"

The baby – _Jonah_ , Joe thinks – blinks at them blearily.

"I love him so much," Demi says softly, almost like she's surprised.

"We did it, guys," Joe says, touching one of the baby's wispy eyebrows. "We made a little person."

"We sure did," Demi laughs. "And he's gonna be an awesome little person, too." She looks up at them, a piece of hair falling out of her ponytail and framing her face. She looks exhausted but happy when she rests her cheek on Nick's shoulder. "My brain is, like, fried from bonding hormones right now, but wow, I really love you guys."

"Yeah," Nick says. It takes a second for him to pull his gaze away from the baby and look at the two of them. He's got this far-away look on his face that Joe's never seen before, not ever. "Me too."

There's still so much to do – they've got phone calls to make, people to tell, and in an hour the room will be full of family and friends and all the confusion of the world who has no idea what they really are. Everything is going to be different after this, and the world they've made for themselves is going to get harder and harder to keep.

"Me three," Joe says, wrapping his arm around her and squeezing Nick's shoulder. Demi laughs and Nick smiles down at the baby.

They're a family, Joe thinks. The four of them right here, they're the real deal. And that's all that's ever mattered.


End file.
